Controversy erupts over trees at Regina Beach

A group of youngsters pose on the limb of a tree in Regina Beach. (Arielle Zerr/CBC)

A controversy is brewing in Regina Beach after residents noticed some old trees were about to be cut down.

According to Janey Davies, a resident of the community west of Regina, a tree cutting crew appeared Wednesday to cut down some trees along a stretch of water front on Last Mountain Lake.

Davies says people in Regina Beach enjoyed the trees, as a shady spot for adults and a source of climbing fun for youngsters.

She said she was told, by the tree cutters, that removal was needed because someone had fallen from a tree and broke a leg.

"Come on. Where do we stop?" Davies said, about the cautionary move. "Where does it end? Are we actually going to take all the play structures out of from schools? I mean, it just seems this is the way society is going."

Janey Davies, of Regina Beach, noticed crews cutting down a large tree and expressed concerns about the move. (Arielle Zerr/CBC)

She said the trees have been around for decades.

Davies said that on Wednesday morning some 40 people gathered in the area to protest a tree's removal. She said the cutting crew left.

Davies said people were considering keeping watch on the site, in shifts, to make sure the trees aren't cut down.

"They're trees that we sit on," she added. "Trees that the kids have climbed for five generations that I know of, because we have four of those generations sitting out here."

An official with Saskatchewan Parks told CBC News Wednesday that it has been cutting down trees, because of safety issues.

However, the official added that they have stopped while the situation is being re-evaluated.

"What we will be doing is reassessing it and determining our next steps," Marty Halpape, from the ministry, said. "So we will be bringing in our landscape and protection unit to look at the tree."

Halpape also confirmed that the action began, as a safety measure, following reports that a child had been hurt.

Halpape added that a partially cut tree may have to be removed entirely, for safety reasons.

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